Lætitia as a man of humor; and the other when he warns Clara to beware of marrying an egoist.
Perhaps the two best understudies in egoism are Wilfred Pole and Victor Radnor. Wilfred is satisfied with the talents and charm of his Emilia. And yet[1]
"It was mournful to think that Circumstances had not at
the same time created the girl of noble birth, or with an instinct
for spiritual elegance. But the world is imperfect."
Both have lofty conceptions of loyalty and sacrifice.
In the case of Wilfred,[2]
"He could pledge himself to eternity, but shrank from being
bound to eleven o'clock on the morrow morning."
Victor is convinced of his love for Nataly,[3]
"And he tested it to prove it by his readiness to die for her:
which is heroically easier than the devotedly living, and has a
weight of evidence in our internal Courts for surpassing the
latter tedious performance."
The occasion of the splendid housewarming at Lakelands
is made into a text on the perils of feminism. In a
crowded hall—[4]
"Chivalry stood. It is a breeched abstraction, sacrificing
voluntarily and genially to the Fair, for a restoring of the balance
between the sexes, that the division of good things be rather
in the fair ones' favor as they are to think: with the warning
to them, that the establishment of their claim for equality
puts an end to the priceless privileges of petticoats. Women
must be mad, to provoke such a warning; and the majority
of them submissively show their good sense." ("With that
